1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method, system, and program for applying multiple disposition schedules to documents.
2. Description of the Related Art
Enterprise content management systems facilitate managing a variety of information/content (documents) and processes that use such information during the course of enterprise operations. Documents, as used herein, refer to any identifiable logical/physical units of information, including content and transactions generated by the enterprise. A document may comprise an electronic file, object, program, database, image, email, message, etc. or a physical item, such as a paper, file, cassette recording, model, storage device having content, etc. Documents stored in the content management system may not initially be managed as part of a records management system until they go through a “declaration” procedure that creates a corresponding record information object (RIO) for the document. Each RIO may include metadata and a reference to the declared document. The metadata describes/characterizes the declared document. The reference is, for example, a location of the document maintained in an electronic file system or database maintained in a computer-readable media. Alternatively, in the case of a physical document, the reference specifies a physical document location (e.g., a box number, a file cabinet, etc.) where the document is located. Once declared as a record, a document is managed/accessed via the content management system and access to the declared document takes place via the content management system.
Other embodiments may not use the RIO/reference model and may instead directly attach record information or metadata to the document or object itself or use other means to track and/or manage records.
The scope of content represented by RIOs is not limited to any particular type of document form or location. A variety of document types are potentially referenced by the RIOs of the records manager. Such document types include, by way of example: formal documents such as permits, invoices, tax records, patents, contracts, claims, manuals etc; informal documents such as email messages (and attachments), text messages, meeting notes, etc.; multimedia content such as audio, video files; and physical containers such as file boxes, cabinets, folders, etc. The documents referenced by the RIOs are potentially stored in a variety of forms and locations. For example, electronic documents including images, text files, forms, etc. are potentially stored in file systems and databases. Physical documents referenced by RIOs are potentially stored in cabinets, boxes, file folders, etc.
After declaring a document, the associated RIO is maintained in an electronic object storage facility referred to as a “file plan object store” including one or more “file plans”. In certain cases, file plans for documents may be maintained without a file plan object store. Each file plan comprises an outline/definition for record management based upon a hierarchically arranged set of categories (classes/subclasses) and containers for classifying/organizing/maintaining the RIOs and their associated declared documents. A known file plan arrangement for storing records includes the following containers: categories/sub-categories, record folders, and record volumes. In addition to defining a taxonomy of document types declared within the system, the file plan supports specifying management rules for RIOs placed within particular document categories and sub-categories. Such rules include user role-based access/permissions to RIOs and their associated documents, and defining disposition schedules specifying when particular disposition actions (e.g., transfer, review, destroy, archive, etc.) are to be taken with respect to documents declared under the category. Thus, the known file plan structure can be visualized as a hierarchical tree structure where nodes potentially specify distinct containers (e.g., category or container of categories). Each category within the file plan potentially specifies a set of properties and lifetime document management rules for associated document records.
The file plan supports multiple ways of associating disposition schedules with RIOs. A disposition schedule may be associated with a record category/sub-category, a record folder, or a record type. Thus, a record folder including RIOs can have a disposition schedule. Alternatively, in cases where a disposition schedule is not assigned to a record folder including the RIOs, the record folder inherits a disposition schedule associated with a parent record category/sub-category. Finally, a disposition schedule is potentially associated with a particular record type.
A disposition schedule may be provided for a record by associating the disposition schedule directly with the RIO for the record. Further, a document inherits the disposition schedule associated with the record folder under which the RIO for the document is declared. In cases where disposition schedules are specified at both category and folder levels, the disposition schedule associated with the container including the RIO or closest ancestor container to container including the RIO is applied.
Furthermore, as noted above, a disposition schedule is potentially associated with a record type. Therefore, the default disposition schedule for a RIO (based upon the RIO's position in the file plan hierarchy) is overridden by defining a new record type, associating an overriding disposition schedule with the new record type, and assigning the new record type to the RIO. Thus, when different disposition schedules are associated with the record category, record folder, and record type associated with a RIO, then the RIO adopts the overriding disposition schedule from the record type. Alternatively, the disposition schedule may be associated or applied directly to the document or object, without using an intermediate RIO or file plan.
A disposition schedule seeks to effectively manage the disposition of documents in an enterprise. For example, with regard to scheduled document destruction, maintaining documents beyond their specified/intended lifespan potentially consumes limited resources (e.g., warehouse shelf space, office cabinets/drawers, etc.). Failure to remove records can also degrade the performance of the system itself due to the need to actively check/track record objects within file plans until their corresponding documents are destroyed. However, destroying documents before the end of their intended lifespan can result in penalties/fines for violations of government guidelines/regulations or damages for breaches of contractual obligations.
Records management applications may be integrated with the enterprise content management systems to define and apply disposition schedules to declared documents. The records manager may include an interface for defining a file plan taxonomy including declared document record types/containers and associated schedules/rules. Furthermore, the records manager supports declaring documents in the system and appending their corresponding RIOs to an appropriate hierarchical node of a file plan (thereby associating a particular file plan-based disposition schedule with the RIO). Thereafter the records manager invokes methods/operations supported by an interface provided by the content engine to perform a “sweep” operation that traverses the file plan and applies corresponding disposition schedules defined for corresponding categories/sub-categories within the file plan.
The disposition schedules created and applied by the records manager define retention rules for declared documents (represented by RIOs in the file plan) and instructions for disposing the declared documents when a retention period ends. The various potential disposition actions specified by the instructions include: review, transfer to archive (for permanent preservation), export to another location, and destruction. Each of the various disposition actions is a potential phase of a declared document's lifespan, and each phase includes a specified retention rule/period and an action to be performed when the retention period ends. A retention period can be extended by designating a hold on a RIO.
Disposition schedules (including periods and actions) are defined by any of a number of supported disposition schedule parameter types defining control of retention of RIOs. A disposition schedule potentially comprises multiple, sequential or concurrent disposition phases that are defined to retain RIOs in a particular state for a defined time period. The following parameters are potentially used to define a phase in a disposition schedule assigned to a particular category/sub-category container of a file plan—and the RIOs contained therein. An “event” specifies a trigger for commencement of a cutoff for contained/referenced record entities. A “cutoff” comprises closing entities at a specified interval to commence disposition actions on the entities. Thus, cutoff is used, for example, to end active use of a record. An “offset” specifies a time gap between registering an event and launching an associated cutoff action. A “cutoff action” specifies a disposition action performed automatically on an entity once a cutoff is triggered by an event and/or any specified offset period has expired. A “phase disposition instruction/action” parameter specifies a manually initiated action that is to be performed upon completion of a phase. Examples of disposition instructions/actions are review, transfer to archive (for permanent preservation), export, and destroy. Furthermore, each disposition instruction/action is associated with a workflow. When the disposition action is initiated, the system launches the workflow comprising a set of instructions to be executed upon an affected record.
The records manager may be used to define applicable dispositions that are mutually exclusive even though no more than one disposition schedule is actively applied to a particular RIO instance within a file plan. The active disposition schedule for any particular RIO in a file plan is determined according to the above-described precedence scheme. Furthermore, only one triggering event/offset combination can be specified within any particular phase of a disposition schedule assigned to a record type or node (e.g., category, folder, etc.) of a file plan. Thus, if a phase disposition instruction/action (e.g., document destruction) is not to be performed until completion of multiple events, then multiple RIOs (stored at multiple locations in one or more file plans) and multiple disposition schedules are created to handle the set of potentially controlling sequences of events.
There is a need in the art for improved techniques for applying disposition schedules within a file plan.